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Geographic influences on fine-scale, hierarchical population structure in northern Canadian populations of anadromous Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus)

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Abstract

Assessments of fine-scale population structure in natural populations are important for understanding aspects of ecology, life history variation and evolutionary history and can provide novel insights into resource management. Although Arctic char, Salvelinus alpinus, represent one of the most culturally and commercially important salmonids in the Canadian Arctic, fine-scale assessments of genetic structure in northern populations of this species are rare. In this study, we assessed population structure in anadromous Arctic char from Cumberland Sound in Canada’s Nunavut territory using 18 microsatellite loci. Specifically, we aimed at identifying potential habitat and landscape/geographic features influencing genetic variation and population structure and resolving potential barriers to gene flow. Overall population structure was moderate (global FST and Jost’s D of 0.042 and 0.236 respectively) and significant among all sampling locations. Habitat and landscape/geographic features, with the exception of fluvial (shoreline) distance, appeared to have little influence on genetic variation and population structure. Bayesian clustering revealed a hierarchical model of population structure, in which the 14 sampling locations were nested within two distinct clusters corresponding to the north and south shores of Cumberland Sound. Both isolation-by-distance analysis and calculations of mean dispersal distance suggest dispersal and gene flow is highest among proximate locations. Finally, several putative barriers to gene flow were identified and one, a putative barrier separating north and south Cumberland Sound, was consistent with the hierarchical STRUCTURE results. Our results suggest that the current river-specific management of commercially harvested Arctic char is appropriate. Overall, we provide further insights into the evolution of genetic variation and population structure in iteroparous, Arctic salmonids.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Pangnirtung Hunters and Trappers Association for their support on this study. More specifically, the following people from Pangirtung provided either help or useful information that made field collections possible: P. Qappik, J. Maniapik, S. Sowdloapik, P. Kilabuk, J. Akpailaluk, J. Ishulutak, T. Nauyuk, J. Shoapik, N. Shoapik, J. Kakee, and D. Nakashuk. S. Wiley also provided essential help in the field and with the logistics. We thank R. Bajno for helpful discussions while the manuscript was being prepared and two anonymous reviewers for critically reviewing the manuscript. Funding for the fieldwork was provided by the Polar Continental Shelf, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (through two Northern Scientific Training Program scholarships awarded to JSM), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada (through a Northern Research Internship awarded to JSM and Discovery and Equipment Grants awarded to EBT) and from Fisheries and Oceans Canada. JSM was supported by an NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship, a Bourse de Doctorat en Recherche from the Fond Québécois sur la Nature et les Technologies, and a 4 Year Scholarship from the University of British Columbia. This work was approved by the Animal Care Committee of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N6, Canada

    Les N. Harris & Ross F. Tallman

  2. Department of Zoology, Biodiversity Research Centre and Beaty Biodiversity Museum, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Jean-Sébastien Moore & Eric B. Taylor

  3. Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, 70 Dysart Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada

    Paul Galpern

  4. Département de Biologie & Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Pavillon Charles-Eugène-Marchand, Université Laval, 1030 Avenue de la Médecine, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Jean-Sébastien Moore

Authors
  1. Les N. Harris
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  2. Jean-Sébastien Moore
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  3. Paul Galpern
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  4. Ross F. Tallman
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  5. Eric B. Taylor
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Les N. Harris.

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Harris, L.N., Moore, JS., Galpern, P. et al. Geographic influences on fine-scale, hierarchical population structure in northern Canadian populations of anadromous Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpinus). Environ Biol Fish 97, 1233–1252 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-013-0210-y

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